Dispenser tray



[SAO SASAKI Aug. 3, 1965 DISPENSER TRAY INVENTOR: /SAO SAS/1 TTU/PNE? United States Patent Oiiice 3,198,341 Patented Aug. 3, 1965 3,198,341 DISPENSER TRAY Isao Sasaki, Altadena, Calif., `assigner te Jet Plastics, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Apr. 5, 1952, Ser. No. 185,434 2 Claims. (Cl. 211-50) The invention relates to trays for dispensing cards or tags bearing information, and more particularly to trays for dispensing cards or tags made of stiff but bendable material.

Many merchandising establishments display merchandise'for sale in open racks or shelves. Conventional practice is to post the prices of the various goods on the shelf edge or rack edge above or below the merchandise. Changeable price tags r cards are conventionally placed in lightweight channels fixed to the shelf edge. The tags can be removed from the channel and replaced with alacrity. Such a system however, has the problem of access to replacement tags bearing numerals or letters and other indicia. Packets and portable bins have been developed to aid in selection at the shelf of the particular desiredtag or card. However it is still difficult with present equipment to select the proper tag and remove it from the packet or bin to place it in the channel.

Conventional tags are of imprinted plastic which is stift' enough to stand rigidly within the channel but flexible enough to bend and insert between the upper and lower lips of the channel. I have invented a dispenser tray for such bendable cards or tags that provides easy access to the desired card, facilitates placement of the cards within the tray and makes easy identification of the particular card supply within the tray. The invention contemplates a dispenser tray for bendable cards which comprises a vertical wall and a plurality of transverse dividers extending from the wall. The wall and dividers combine to form a plurality of card or tag compartments each of which is open at the ltop and a side. The wall and dividers have a base portion. Preferably the base includes lioor segments extending in concave fashion between each pair of adjacent dividers. The iioor segments also abut the vertical wall. rPhe inner surface of each divider has a multiplicity of horizontal serrations. Each divider is spaced from the next adjacent divider a distance such that cards or tags pushed downwardly into a compartment are locked at their opposite edges beneath opposed serrations in a downwardly curving configuration. Preferably the serrations open at the outer side of each compartment so that a card may be removed horizontally from the compartment. As an alternative to concave floor segments the tray base may be spaced from the bottom-most serration so that an arching card clears the base.

The bendable cards or tags are stacked within the compartments of the tray. Preferably they are placed face up on the divider lips and a firm downward thrust in the center of a particular stack forces the cards to curve and foreshorten so that they may be inserted in the space between transverse dividers. Since the dividers are spaced a distance less than the length of the cards, the cards assume a concave configuration, with opposite edges of each card locked beneath opposed serrations. Thus, while in the particular compartment, a card is held in concave configuration. It is then a simple matter to remove the card by a finger touch, sliding it horizontally along the serrations to the open side of the compartment.

The tray may have transverse dividers defining compartments extending from each side of the vertical wall. The tray may terminate in horizontally extending tabs at the ends of the rows. The tabs afford means for lifting and carrying the tray.

The tray of the invention may be made of light weight economical plastic, is easily portable, openly displays the information on the cards or tags in the tray, and affords simple removal of the tags from the tray com partments. These and other advantages of the invention are apparent in the following detailed description and drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is plan view of a preferred embodiment of the invention showing the cards or tags in place in the tray;

FiG. 2 is a sectional elevation taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1; FG. 3 is greatly enlarged fragmentary sectional elevation taken along line 3 3 of FIG. 1; and

FiG. 4 is a perspective View of a typical bendable card or tag bearing information on a surface thereof.

In FIG. 1 a dispensing tray 11 has a vertical wall 13 extending between end carrying flanges 15, 16. Flange 16 has a central aperture 17 from which the tray may be hung. A first plurality of dividers 19 extends transversely from the vertical wall 13. A second plurality of transverse dividers 21 extend in the opposite direction from the vertical wall. The first plurality of dividers are spaced apart to define with wall 13 a plurality of compartments 23. Transverse dividers 21 are similarly spaced to define with the Vertical wall a plurality of compartments 2S. Each of compartments 23 and 25 (with the exception of compartment 25A) is shown containing one or more information bearing cards or tags 27. A stack 27A of such cards is shown in FIG. 2 in place in a compartment 23.

A typical card or tag 29 is `shown in FIG. '4, bearing the letter L upon its upper surface. Such a card may be of a common plastic such as polyethylene vinyl, acetate, etc. and be an inch and a quarter long by one inch wide. The card is conventionally from fteen to twenty thousandths of an inch thick.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each of the compartments 23 and 25 has an open top and side. Each of the transverse dividers defining a compartment has a. multiplicity of shallow horizontal serrations 31. The serrations are on the inner vertical surface of the transverse dividers and extend outwardly from the vertical wall to the outer edge of the divider. Preferably the serrations have `a V configuration and the serrations in opposite divider surfaces are mutually parallel and in horizontal alignment.

For cards such as that shown in FIG. 4 the serrations can be at vertical increments of .020 inch. The distance D from root to root of the opposed serrations is less than the length of the card or tag so that each card bends to the concave configuration best illustrated in. FIG. 3 by card 27B. Card 27B is inserted into the top of a compartment 23 of tray 11, shown fragmentarily in FIG. 3. As is evident from FIG. 3, the compartment is closed at the bottom by a concave iloor segment 35. Such a concave floor segment is preferable. The bottom of the compartment may be open if the base of the tray raises the bottom serration more than card curvature above the base bottom. However, there is` the inconvenience frompushing a stack of cards or tags through the compartment if the compartment is not oored. The curved configuration of the floor segment is preferable as it affords clearance for the downward concavity of cards within the compartment.

in FIG. 3 a plurality of cards 27C are shown in place at the bottom of compartment Z3. A further plurality of cards 27D are aligned above the compartment. As indicated by arrow 41, downward pressure on the central portion of the cards 27D will force them to assume the configuration of card 27B. In this configuration the cards may be inserted into the compartment and their opposite edges will then lock beneath serrations in the manner shown for cards 27B and 27C. It is thus obvious that lling the compartments of trays is a simple operation.V

As shown in FIG. 2, the serrations extend to the outer edges of the transverse dividers. The manipulations of a single finger such as the inger 45 shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1 may slide the card outwardly along the horizontal serrations and out the open side of the compartment.

Since the numbered or lettered tags may be placed in the compartment with the information face up there is never any question as to what tag is being removed from the tray. Springiness of the conventional 4tag or card maintains an outward thrust against the serrations. Tags do not spill from the tray even when the tray is turned upside down. There is also sufficient friction to preclude spilling the cards from the open side of the tray compartments. However, friction is insuficient to interfere with easy removal of card from the compartment as indicated in FIG. 1.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown as having a straight vertical wall with compartments on either side thereof, the scope of the invention inclu-des a vertical wall from which a single row of compartments extend. The wall need not be straight line but may be curved or may even be a circle from which compartments that are open at top and bottom extend radially.

Other modifications of the illustrative embodiment may occur to those skilled in the art. Such variations are contemplated within the scope of the invention which is dened by lthe appended claims.

I claim:i

l. A dispenser tray for at, stiff, sharp edged identical price cards, these being of such a material that the cards bow slightly under edgewise pressure without being marred and which return to flat when such edgewise pressure is released; said cards being approximately one inch square to serve as conventional price cards for shelf moldings of supermarkets;

saidtray comprising a compartment having a back wall, two side walls, and a bottom wall, with neither a top wall nor a front Wall, both top and front being open; the compartment having a plan area approximately that of thev card; the side walls each having a multiplicity of open front horizontal serrations in their inner facing surfaces for individually receiving edges of cards; the side walls being spaced slightly closer than the width of the cards when flat so that a card will bow downwardly when it is laid at on the upper edges of the side walls and pushed horizontally downwardly into the compartment from above it; the back and bottom walls rigidly connecting the side walls to stiften them and prevent their relative movement. 2. A device according to claim 1 wherein the bottom is concaved to conform to the bowing of the cards.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 570,338 10/96 Reed 211-41 1,532,436 4/25 Musil 206-73 2,211,666 4/40 Maiben 2li-50 2,469,485 5/49 Weaver 206-73 2,508,283 5/50 Nelson 206--81 2,582,785 1/52 Luppold 206-73 2,827,199 3/58 Baskerville 206--73 POREGN PATENTS 529,369 12/54 Belgium.

662,906 7/ 38 Germany.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

EARLE J. DRUMMOND, GEORGE O. RALSTON,

Examiners. 

1. A DISPENSER TRAY FOR FLAT, STIFF, SHARP EDGED IDENTICAL PRICE CARDS, THESE BEING OF SUCH A MATERIAL THAT THE CARDS BOW SLIGHTLY UNDER EDGEWISE PRESSURE WITHOUT BEING MARRED AND WHICH RETURN TO FLAT WHEN SUCH EDGEWISE PRESSURE IS RELEASED; SAID CARDS BEING APPROXIMATELY ONE INCH SQUARE TO SERVE AS CONVENTIONAL PRICE CARDS FOR SHELF MOLDINGS OF SUPERMARKETS; SAID TRAY COMPRISING A COMPARTMENT HAVING A BACK WALL, TWO SIDE WALLS, AND A BOTTOM WALL, WITH NEITHER A TOP WALL NOR A FRONT WALL, BOTH TOP AND FRONT BEING OPEN; THE COMPARTMENT HAVING A PLAN AREA APPROXIMATELY THAT OF THE CARD; THE SIDE WALLS EACH HAVING MULTIPLICITY OF OPEN FRONT HORIZONTAL SERRATIONS IN THEIR INNER FACING SURFACES FOR INDIVIDUALLY RECEIVING EDGES OF CARDS; THE SIDE WALLS BEING SPACED SLIGHTLY CLOSER THAT THE WIDTH OF THE CARDS WHEN FLAT SO THAT A CARD WILL BOW DOWNWARDLY WHEN IT IS LAID FLAT ON THE UPPER EDGES OF THE SIDE WALLS AND PUSHED HORIZONTALLY DOWNWARDLY INTO THE COMPARTMENT FROM ABOVE IT; THE BACK AND BOTTOM WALLS RIGIDLY CONNECTING THE SIDE WALLS TO STIFFEN THEM AND PREVENT THEIR RELATIVE MOVEMENT. 